Middleweight Chase Corley (2-0, 2 KOs), a converted Muay Thai exponent, will attempt to keep his undefeated record intact on April 4 at the latest Savarese Boxing event at the Bayou City Events Center. It will be his third fight in five months. At press time, Corley's opponent had yet to be determined.

Despite having only two pro bouts under his belt, Corley, 28, is already a veteran prizefighter. He had spent the better part of the last five years in Thailand competing in Muay Thai, a sport in which exponents utilize kicks and elbows in addition to punches. After compiling a professional Muay Thai record of 16-12, Corley, 28, decided to shelve his kicks and elbows and return to compete on home turf a year ago.

"I've always wanted to fight at home and the only way is boxing," Corley, a Spring High graduate, said. "In Thailand you can train with the best in Muay Thai, and here in the US you can train with the best in boxing. I went all the way that I could in Muay Thai and I know it's hard to start all over in boxing. I'm just taking on a new challenge, I guess."

Several Muay Thai exponents has made successful transitions to boxing, the most notable being Khaosai and Khaokor Galaxy, twins from Thailand who won boxing world titles in the 115- and 118-pound divisions in the 80's.

Trained by Bobby Benton at the Main Boxing Gym, Corley said his conversion has been rather seamless, especially since he fought 10 amateur boxing bouts as a teenager before switching to Muay Thai. But his hard-charging, kill-or-be-killed style stems from kickboxing, he added, and he needs to infuse a measure of finesse in his mode of combat before stepping up against more proficient boxers. He cites the right uppercut as his deadliest punch.

"I'm always trying to come forward and bring the fight to the other person," Corley said. "In Muay Thai there's no moving around and being evasive at all to score points. The judges don't like that. I'm trying to get used to getting my footwork and getting everything back to a boxing thing, but as for right now I've just been kind of pushing forward."

A graduate of Spring High School, Corley earned a degree in sports management from Texas A&M in 2007. He still conducts Muay Thai classes, but as far as his own training goes, he is now committed exclusively to the sweet science.

"It's totally different," Corley said. "You can't train at boxing and Muay Thai at the same time. The stances are different the way punches are thrown is different, the way you defend is different."

It will be Savarese Boxing's third show in four months at the Bayou City Events Center after its three year stint at the Houston Club ended last year when the club changed ownership and relocated. The move, in retrospect, was "a blessing in disguise" since the new venue has five times the seating capacity of the Houston Club, said Lou Savarese, a former heavyweight contender turned promoter.

"This has just been a godsend," Savarese said. "We're going to kind of organically grow it. Everything's a trial and error and we'll work the kinks out of it."

The show has always served as a platform for young fighters to hone their skills and raise their visibility, Savarese said, but at the new venue it is also evolving into a powwow for Houston's oil and gas executives to network and mingle on a regular basis. While fight nights were staged every two months at the Houston Club, Savarese intends to increase its frequency at the new arena.